I live in Streeterville, in Chi-town and for awhile I have been thinking, I am great at thinking and not doing putting together a pamplet for the neighborhood called "recycling for dummies(me)". Secondly, hoarding runs in my family so I am trying to do the opposite, getting rid of stuff without throwing it away. I have always until recently been an early adopter of technology which means I also have a lot of old stuff. The thing that seems to accumulate the most are the power cords.
I had a full time office job for 3 months which was an experiment, it taught me how I am not an administrative type, I am entrepreneur! I did help them move offices while I was there, I am good at schlepping things and they saved a ton of money from not paying movers, but the thing they had a ton of were old discs, old power cords and they didn't want to throw anything away "in case" they needed it, NOT!!!!!!
SO this blog is really to see what the web comes back with, I am seeking information and welcome any commenters who come upon this rant and can offer suggestions. I don't own a car, I don't have time to drop something off in the middle of nowhere. Okay, I do need to stop by the Apple Store which is around the corner from me and ask what they suggest. But sorry to be so cynical, but I am sure they will say, I am so sorry, we don't have an answer for you.
SO does anyone in the world of the wide web have any ideas???? I will repost a rant if I come upon an answer but this whole issue of power cords, adapters, old batteries(yes, some places will take old batteries), all those miscellaneous parts that come with an Iphone, an Ipod, a Blackberry, a digital camera, a lap top, where can it go to get recycled rather than just a landfill, where, where, where??????????????
Update: 1) I emailed Foresight Design who are "THE SYNEGISTS" of bringing all sorts of information people together on sustainability in all areas of life. Bobby Selzer emailed me back with these suggestions:
We've found this is the best place to start—Earth911.com. Best Buy also takes some electronics for $10 and gives you a $10 gift card in exchange.
So that spurred me on to finally checkout the Apple Store and checkout Best Buy which are right in my neighborhood. I spoke to an associate at the store and he said, bring in little stuff and he would put it in their recycle bin "in the back". I am going to go to their website to see if they have anything written. But have you ever bought an Apple product, it comes with all these little parts to take into account that you live in a foreign country, need to project your image, etc...So I am going to see if there is any official imformation on their website.
Best Buy..I went to the information desk which hits you when you walk into the store and the guy at the information desk knew nothing about recycling, I think he merely points to where cameras or phones are, he sent me to customer service. I went to Customer Service and they had a big blue bin which is signs of progress and it was divided into, old phones, old gift cards and batteries. However, Best Buy is in the Hancock Building which does not recycle so I am going to look further into what Best Buy does after it is in the bin. The customer service lady told me to go to their website that they had nothing in writing. So I did gather more information which is a step. But I am purposely making time to do this, what about all the gizillions of people who have no time?? To be continued....
Went to the Best Buy website and their recycling policy is pretty good actually, it is here. It is too bad it is not spelled out more clearly in the store. The only issue is that you are limited to 3 items a day and if I am any indication, if you finally decide to get rid of all the old stuff, there is a lot of old stuff. The next question is where does it go? Do they just rely on what their hauler says? But this is definitely a lot better than the Apple Store.....
2)Update #2..Almost success...Success will be when I get rid of all the extra telephone, stereo wires, power cords and endless small peripherals. Best Buy - See above..I went back into the store and asked further questions, they will take power cords, they will take my old blackberry and stuff, they will take it!!! They either ship it off or call a special hauler to bring it to the right place. Success will be when I clear out some stuff...but if I succeed, Best Buy you are the greatest and you really put the high and might Apple Store to shame who hardly has any information on their website about recycling, there is nothing prominent in the store, I think they are just too intent on selling more..and Apple I really used to really like you to but it seems you are moving towards the dark side unfortunately. So now the onus is on me to start going through my stuff to get rid of it!!!!! woo hoo!!!!!!
